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What does “in the beginning” mean? In the beginning of what?Yes the Genesis account does say that creation was only what was ex materia created. Because the heavens and earth were ex materia created beginning in verse 3. Day 1 creation began in verse 3. And was completed by Day 7.
And yes, He did created heavens and earth in 6 days, completed on the 7th. And every time the Bible says "And God Said", it's describing those creative acts.
The beginning of when God began creating ex materia.What does “in the beginning” mean? In the beginning of what?
Creation doesn't have to be out of nothing. I can create a work of art. I can create a sports team. I can create a movie. I can create a recipe, or a meal.The beginning of when God began creating ex materia.
Genesis 1:1-3 NRSVUE
[1] When God began to create the heavens and the earth, [2] the earth was complete chaos, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. [3] Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
It's like saying "In the Beginning, Job created cookies" or "When Job began to create cookies" or "In the beginning when Job created cookies". The cookies were formless. And then Job said "let there be chocolate chips".
So "the beginning" is the beginning of the 7-day ex materia creation event. It's not about the ex nihilo beginning of everything that exists.
So when the Bible says God created the heavens and the earth that’s not describing the creative acts? What makes you think that God has to say “let there be” in order for it to represent Him actually creating something? Why wouldn’t the words “God created” be insufficient for indicating that God has begun the creation process? No verse 1 is the beginning of the creation account hence the term “IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH”. That statement marks the beginning of the creation process. It marks the beginning of God’s work that He rested from on the 7th day.Yes the Genesis account does say that creation was only what was ex materia created. Because the heavens and earth were ex materia created beginning in verse 3. Day 1 creation began in verse 3. And was completed by Day 7.
And yes, He did created heavens and earth in 6 days, completed on the 7th. And every time the Bible says "And God Said", it's describing those creative acts.
In Hebrew, there is no definite article before "Beginning". So some translations way "in the beginning" some say, "in the beginning when" and some say "when God began" etc.So when the Bible says God created the heavens and the earth that’s not describing the creative acts? What makes you think that God has to say “let there be” in order for it to represent Him actually creating something? Why wouldn’t the words “God created” be insufficient for indicating that God has begun the creation process? No verse 1 is the beginning of the creation account hence the term “IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH”. That statement marks the beginning of the creation process. It marks the beginning of God’s work that He rested from on the 7th day.
“Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from ALL HIS WORK WHICH GOD HAD CREATED AND MADE.”
Genesis 2:3 NASB1995
Why do you think the term “which He had created (bara) and made (asah) is used here? This is a reference to both ex nihilo and ex materia. There’s nothing to indicate that Genesis 1:1 didn’t take place on the first day. Everything points to the entire complete creation and formation process from beginning to end being completed in 6 days.
Genesis 2:1-3 says He completed His work by the 7th day. Genesis 1:1 says that creation process began with the creation of the heavens and the earth. There’s no reason to separate verses 1-5, they all took place on the first day.
So to answer the question, when the Bible says:In Hebrew, there is no definite article before "Beginning". So some translations way "in the beginning" some say, "in the beginning when" and some say "when God began" etc.
Because there is no definite article, your argument is incomplete. And that's why I can simply quote other translations:
Genesis 1:1 NRSVUE
[1] When God began to create the heavens and the earth,
Genesis 1:1-2 NIV
[1] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Notice verse 2 in the NIV begins with "Now" indicating that it's a continuation of verse 1. The formless earth is a part of verse 1 in a sense, describing background conditions.
Genesis 1:1 NRSV
[1] In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,
Genesis 1:1-2 CEB
[1] When God began to create the heavens and the earth— [2] the earth was without shape or form, it was dark over the deep sea, and God’s wind swept over the waters—
CSB is a little different here as well, it starts with "When" and then uses a hyphen to connect verse 1 and 2.
Genesis 1:1 ERV
[1] In the beginning, when God created the earth and sky,
Genesis 1:1 GNBDC
[1] In the beginning, when God created the universe,
Even in NASB if you look closely:
Genesis 1:1-2 NASB2020
[1] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
You'll see that NASB begins verse 2 with "And" suggesting continuation from verse 1, "and the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness".
Which is to say that it was formless in the beginning.
Genesis 1:3 NASB2020
[3] Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
And then NASB continues with "then", as in, subsequently, God begins creating with the spoken word.
Bara and Asah are interchangeable, they do not distinguish between ex nihilo and ex materia. Humanity is bara for example, though they are made of dust and rib.So when the Bible says God created the heavens and the earth that’s not describing the creative acts? What makes you think that God has to say “let there be” in order for it to represent Him actually creating something? Why wouldn’t the words “God created” be insufficient for indicating that God has begun the creation process? No verse 1 is the beginning of the creation account hence the term “IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH”. That statement marks the beginning of the creation process. It marks the beginning of God’s work that He rested from on the 7th day.
“Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from ALL HIS WORK WHICH GOD HAD CREATED AND MADE.”
Genesis 2:3 NASB1995
Why do you think the term “which He had created (bara) and made (asah) is used here? This is a reference to both ex nihilo and ex materia. There’s nothing to indicate that Genesis 1:1 didn’t take place on the first day. Everything points to the entire complete creation and formation process from beginning to end being completed in 6 days.
Genesis 2:1-3 says He completed His work by the 7th day. Genesis 1:1 says that creation process began with the creation of the heavens and the earth. There’s no reason to separate verses 1-5, they all took place on the first day.
Your argument is still irrelevant because creating the earth still took place before forming it and it still marked the beginning of the creation process since we know that God created the earth from nothing. So your argument still doesn’t hold water because forming the earth was not when He began its creation, nor was it when He began His work.In Hebrew, there is no definite article before "Beginning". So some translations way "in the beginning" some say, "in the beginning when" and some say "when God began" etc.
Because there is no definite article, your argument is incomplete. And that's why I can simply quote other translations:
Yes the earth was formless when He created it. It still doesn’t change the fact that creating the earth from nothing was the beginning of His work.Notice verse 2 in the NIV begins with "Now" indicating that it's a continuation of verse 1. The formless earth is a part of verse 1 in a sense, describing background conditions.
Genesis 1:1 NRSV
[1] In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,
Genesis 1:1-2 CEB
[1] When God began to create the heavens and the earth— [2] the earth was without shape or form, it was dark over the deep sea, and God’s wind swept over the waters—
CSB is a little different here as well, it starts with "When" and then uses a hyphen to connect verse 1 and 2.
Genesis 1:1 ERV
[1] In the beginning, when God created the earth and sky,
Genesis 1:1 GNBDC
[1] In the beginning, when God created the universe,
Even in NASB if you look closely:
Genesis 1:1-2 NASB2020
[1] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
You'll see that NASB begins verse 2 with "And" suggesting continuation from verse 1, "and the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness".
Which is to say that it was formless in the beginning.
Genesis 1:3 NASB2020
[3] Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
And then NASB continues with "then", as in, subsequently, God begins creating with the spoken word.
But you know that God created the earth from nothing and that was the beginning of His work. Verse 2 couldn’t exist without verse 1 being the creation of the earth from nothing. You can refuse to admit it but truth is not subjective to personal opinion. No matter how much you try you cannot escape the truth that God began His work by creating the earth from nothing.When the Bible says "When God began to create the heavens and the earth",
No, I do not consider that in and of itself a creative act of God. The creative act is verse 3, God's spoken Word. Verse 1 is just introduction.
You forget to mention that Job also created the dough before he began making the cookies. So Job rested from ALL his work on the 7th hour.When Job began to make cookies, the dough was formless. Then Job said "let there be chocolate chips".
How did God begin to form the earth if He hadn’t created it yet?Yes the creation process began in verse 3 with the creation (ex materia) of the heavens and earth.
Wrong because the creation of the dough is the beginning of the process. If someone else made the dough then your statement would be true but in this particular case since you made the dough that was the beginning of the cookie making process. That was the beginning of your work because it would be impossible for you to form the dough into cookies without making the dough first. This is all common sense and it’s clear that you’re just going to continue to refuse to admit the truth, that you’ve lost this argument. Like I said before truth is not subjective to personal or popular opinion. We are not free to interpret the scriptures however we choose because there’s only one truth and you don’t arrive at the truth by ignoring portions of scripture.Just like my creation process of a batch of cookies can begin, ex materia with formless dough, on Tuesday, and extend 7 days in which my batch of cookies are fully baked and completed the following week. It has nothing to do with my cookie dough appearing ex nihilo out of thin air. I simply gave form (bara'd) to my cookie dough over 7-days. And on the 7th day of the week, my cookies were completed and ready to be eaten, and I rested on the throne and began enjoying them.
The creation of the dough isn't described in the Bible. That's not the story that the Bible is telling. Sorry to break it to you.Wrong because the creation of the dough is the beginning of the process. If someone else made the dough then your statement would be true but in this particular case since you made the dough that was the beginning of the cookie making process. That was the beginning of your work because it would be impossible for you to form the dough into cookies without making the dough first. This is all common sense and it’s clear that you’re just going to continue to refuse to admit the truth, that you’ve lost this argument. Like I said before truth is not subjective to personal or popular opinion. We are not free to interpret the scriptures however we choose because there’s only one truth and you don’t arrive at the truth by ignoring portions of scripture.
How did God begin to form the earth if He hadn’t created it yet?
Not in the Bible he didn't. The Bible begins with the dough already formless. And creation ex materia begins in verse 3 with the spoken word.You forget to mention that Job also created the dough before he began making the cookies. So Job rested from ALL his work on the 7th hour.
But you know that God created the earth from nothing and that was the beginning of His work. Verse 2 couldn’t exist without verse 1 being the creation of the earth from nothing. You can refuse to admit it but truth is not subjective to personal opinion. No matter how much you try you cannot escape the truth that God began His work by creating the earth from nothing.
So God creating the earth from nothing wasn’t work?Not in the Bible it wasn't. The work began in verse 3 with the Word. Verse 1 is just an introduction.
That’s where you’re wrong because John 1:3 says that nothing came into being apart from God. And Maccabees 7:28 says that God created the earth from nothing. So the Bible does tell that story. You’re just refusing to admit it.The creation of the dough isn't described in the Bible. That's not the story that the Bible is telling. Sorry to break it to you.
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